How to Determine The Sex of Your Parakeet

If you've brought home a little parakeet to add to your family you likely want to name it. Doing so means that you need to know the gender of your parakeet. Several small clues that help you determine whether your parakeet is a girl or boy, but the age of the bird is also critical. By looking at certain physical characteristics, you'll be able to know if you should name your bird Sally or Tom.

Step 1

Know your parakeet's age. Until a parakeet is about one year old, the cere of male and female parakeets are the same color, a bright pink or soft purple. The cere is the area of skin right above your parakeet's beak, and varies between the males and females of the species once they are a year or older.

Step 2

Determine the gender of your parakeet based on the color of the cere. On a female parakeet, the cere can range from a white or light blue color to a pale tan. When the female is ready to mate, the cere may become a dark brown and become flaky. On a male parakeet, the cere is blue or a purplish-blue color.

Step 3

Look for rings that are very faint white on your bird's nostril. Rings are indicative of a female parakeet.

Step 4

Look at the shape of the cere. Male parakeet's ceres are more rounded, almost bulbous.

Step 5

Check the bite. Females are reputed to bite harder than males.

Step 6

Look at the head shape. In general, male parakeets have rounder heads, while female parakeet's heads are flatter.